What is it?
The ‘Schedule 2: Declaration by Third Party Mortgagor, Guarantor, Surety Mortgagor or Indemnifier for the Borrower/Grantor of a Security Interest‘ is an official form issued by The Law Society of New South Wales (Law Society of NSW) for use by lawyers whose practising certificates are issued by the Law Society of NSW.
It is essentially a declaration signed by the guarantor to declare that they have, in fact, obtained independent legal advice on the loan and guarantee, before signing it.
Many lenders make it a requirement that the lawyer giving the legal advice actually be the witness to the declaration itself.
Why must it be used?
The Legal Profession Solicitors Rules that govern NSW Lawyers, does not allow them to issue legal advice certificates to lenders to evidence that they have provided legal advice.
This prevents NSW based lawyers from using a lenders own certificate or any other form of evidence that legal advice has been given.
Does this apply to all lawyers in Australia?
No. If the lawyer providing the advice is based in another State in Australia (Queensland for instance) then they are not restricted by the same rules as NSW based lawyers.
Queensland based lawyers are free to use their own certificates of legal advice.
Generally, when we issue our Legal Advice Certificates, there is no further need for the guarantor to make the declaration.
Can ILA Australia deal with New South Wales clients?
Yes. We regularly service guarantor clients all over New South Wales including Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Central Coast.
As we are an online service, we have also serviced clients in more regional areas of New South Wales where access to lawyers might be more scarce or inconvenient ‘in-office’.
